Doug and Veronica leaned toward each other and shared a few whispers. I tried to eavesdrop, but failed.
Doug pulled away. “Five thousand dollars, a transportation stone so that we can leave once we’ve delivered you, since the protection charms don’t prevent people from leaving the city, and when you’re in Kart-hadasht, you take as many photos as you can.”
“And measurements,” Veronica said.
“Isn’t it super dangerous in there?” Ana asked. “Will we have time to take photos?”
“Do your best,” Veronica said. “We’d like detail shots. Things we have a harder time getting with the drones.”
“I can’t guarantee the measurements,” I said. “But we can do the photos.”
Veronica and Doug nodded.
Veronica stood and looked at her watch. “We’d better get a move on. Sun sets late this time of year, but we still want to get across by dark.”
I polished off my beer and stood, joining them.
“Good work,” I said to Cade as we followed them out of the bar. “I like them.”
“Me too.”
Veronica and Doug led us through the market, toward the other end of town. We made a brief stop at their place to pick up some daypacks, then continued on toward a corral containing giant camels on the outskirts of town. The beasts were a very pale pink color, like flamingos.
“Can you ride a camel?” Doug asked.
“Ummm.” I shook my head.
“Let’s hope you’re a fast learner.” Veronica smiled and pointed to one of the smaller camels who had long, fluttering eyelashes. “You’ll ride Camelia.”
“Camelia the camel?”
“Yep.” Veronica vaulted over the fence.
We followed.
“Why are they pink?” I asked.
“They’re a magical breed.” Doug collected saddles from the small man who appeared to work at the corral, and began to saddle the camels.
I shifted the daypack that Veronica had given me on my back and approached Camelia, who fluttered her lashes at me.
“Hey, pretty girl.”
She honked, the loudest, craziest noise I’d ever heard, and I leapt backward.
“Ooooh, she likes you!” Veronica said.
“Why does she honk?”
“They were magically crossed with geese.” Doug grinned.
“That explains it, because she sounds just like a goose.” I climbed onto Camelia, trying to get a feel for riding a camel. It was weird, but at least I didn’t fall.
Everyone saddled up, and Doug and Veronica moved their mounts toward us.
“All right,” Doug said. “Follow our orders exactly. If I shout in French, repeat what I say. Your camel will know what to do. If I give directions, like ‘riders, go left,’ then do that.”
I gave a thumbs-up.
“Don’t screw this up,” Veronica said. “Your lives depend on it.”
Chapter Nine
The sun beat hard against my face as we followed Doug and Veronica out into the desert. All around, the sand gleamed in waves of gold, and I felt like I was in Aladdin.
“There’s a face wrap in your pack if you want it,” Veronica said.
As I bounced along on Camelia, I rustled around in the bag, managing to pull the cloth free and wrap my face. Ana and Cade did the same. The ride was bouncy and uncomfortable, but it was better than walking. And flying would just exhaust me. Even now, my wings ached, a constant reminder of what I had to accomplish.
Cade was a natural on his camel, and I stole surreptitious glances at him, unable to help myself. After a couple hours, though, the air started to prickle with danger. It made my skin itch, and I turned around, searching the dunes for oncoming threats.
“It’s about to get interesting,” Doug said.
I squinted into the distance, realizing that the sand around us was shifting. I squinted at it. A mirage?
I pointed. “Hey, Veronica, what is that?”
Veronica raised her hand to shield her eyes and stared. “Ah, crap. Everyone, get ready to run.”
At that moment, the sand exploded about one hundred yards away. A massive scorpion burst free, easily the size of a car. It scuttled toward us, pinchers raised high.
“Plus rapide!” Doug shouted. His camel picked up the pace, galloping across the sand.
“Plus rapide!” Veronica shouted. Her mount took off, sand kicking up behind.
All right, then. “Plus rapide!”
Camelia shot forward like a rocket. I clung to her, bouncing like mad, as she hurtled across the sand. Ana and Cade joined me. The scorpion raced for us, unnaturally fast.
It went right for Veronica, who pulled an evasive maneuver that allowed her to dodge the creature by a hair.
Doug turned around in his saddle and threw out a hand, blasting the scorpion with a cold rush of air. The edges of it chilled my skin, but the core of the blast hit the scorpion. The creature froze up, then fell onto its back.
Nice.
We could handle these scorpions.
Then another shot out of the sand. And another. They raced for us, impossibly fast on their many legs.
Yeah, I’d spoken too soon.
One of them headed straight for me. I could fly away, but I couldn’t leave Camelia on her own.
I called my sword from the ether, careful to keep from slicing her, and shouted, “Plus rapide!”
Camelia picked up a little burst of speed, and I pulled the reins slightly left.
She snuffled, clearly annoyed that I thought to command her. As if she needed help running away from a giant scorpion. She was no dummy.
She raced left, hurtling over the sand as the scorpion gained on us.
More had surged out of the earth, charging my companions as we galloped over the dunes. Ana created a shield to deflect attacking scorpions, while Cade drew his bronze shield and hurled it toward the one that raced after him.
My scorpion was so close that I could hear the snap of its claws.
Ah, crap, I hated bugs.
And this was one big bug.
He was nearly on me now, his tail hovering over my head. I leaned backward and sliced with my sword, aiming for the closest claw. My blade hacked through, but the claw was so big that it didn’t make a difference.
The scorpion hissed and waved its tail.
I eyed it as Camelia galloped, raising my sword at the ready. My heart thundered against my ribs.
One shot.
I had one shot.
The tail struck, flying downward.
I sliced my sword, severing the point from the tip. Camelia was just fast enough that she raced away before the blood could spatter me.
But the scorpion didn’t slow down. He hissed and raced faster, his tail regenerating.
“Plus rapide!” I cried.
She was probably already going as fast as she could, but I couldn’t help myself.
We couldn’t outrun them. Should I jump off so that she could run faster? If my sword couldn’t protect her, what good was I?
I tried calling on my sonic boom, but it was gone. Though my other powers were now intact since I had the wings, my sonic boom had disappeared entirely.
“Duck!” Veronica screamed.
I did as she commanded, crouching low on Camelia’s back. Veronica hurled a blast of sparkling magic at the monster. As it flew over my head, the sparkles turned to knives.
They sliced through the scorpion, hurling him backward. He tumbled end over end on the sand, the force of the blades driving him away from me.